The Scarlet Union
by Shara Raizel
Summary: Life has never been easy being Harry Potter, especially when he is being raised by a loving foster mother who happens to be the only living heir of Slytherin and her muggle husband who confuse and baffle the magical community, defying pureblood social norms with their union. (Summary is crap. I apologize.)
1. Chapter 1

Happy Halloween! This is my second attempt at a Harry Potter series AU crossed with another series, this time staring Hakuba Saguru and Koizumi Akako from Gosho Aoyama's Detective Conan/Magic Kaitou. This first chapter is more of a background on Akako and set the stage so to speak, for when Harry Potter enters the story in chapter 2. I hope you enjoy. :)

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When Koizumi Akako was a small girl of seven, she, like most proper young witches and wizards in Japan, was sent to the Mahoutokoro School of Magic by her mother. Every morning Koizumi Akane would send her on her way aboard the back of a Giant Storm Petrel from their home in Ekoda.

Being a Koizumi, Akako - even at a young age - was gifted with a charm that won over many of her fellow students. From the start she was considered a gifted and talented student and adored the attention that was lavished on her. She breezed through the materials easily and got top marks in all of her classes. It wasn't until she was nine, however, that her world began to crumble around her.

During the seventies, a darkness could be felt growing within the magical community from the other side of the world where a Lord Voldemort was raising to power in the UK. The man was obsessed with the lineage of Salazar Slytherin. This worried Akako's family greatly, for it was no secret in Japan that the Koizumis were descended from the Legendary English Wizard. Snakes were their symbol and served as their familiars for a reason.

According to the detailed and longstanding Koizumi family history record, Akako's several times over Great Grandmother, Koizumi Sadashi, had charmed the handsome Englishman with her exotic Asian beauty and power. The affair was kept quiet in England (for Salazar had been engaged to some English Pureblood witch at the time), but in Japan, though the affair was frowned upon, the descendants of Koizumi Sadashi rose up in politics and Pureblood social circles, displaying great feats of magic and power. And unlike the English descendants of Slytherin, the Koizumi line didn't inbreed itself into extinction. Many wizards (Pureblood and Muggle-born alike) rose to power in Japan on the arm of a Koizumi woman, who for some reason only ever gave birth to a single daughter to carry on the legacy.

Some circles believed that the women of that line only had daughters because they were cursed for the dishonor Sadashi had brought upon her family by courting and producing a foreigner's child unwed. It was a well spread belief considering that all Koizumi women were notorious for their beauty and ability to charm any man they desired in their midst. They gained a reputation for being man stealers, even though they were unerringly loyal to their chosen husband once they were wed and with child.

But the fact remained that the blood of Salazar Slytherin and his gift for Parseltongue was passed down to every descendant. Akako was just the youngest and most current heir to that legacy. And at age nine, in the winter of 1975, Voldemort himself came to Japan and killed the entire Koizumi household. Or so he thought.

The Koizumi women were not unfamiliar with attempts to wipe out their bloodline, however. Koizumi Akane and her mother, Aiya, had prepared for such an occasion. The moment Voldemort's foreign magic was detected by the magical wards on their home, they had hidden young Akako away with the family's oni servant, Iwao, in the girl's own bedroom, which had been Akane's when she was a child, and Aiya's before her, and her mother's before her.

The room had special enchantments on it that hid it from outsiders when the wards were activated. Akako was also protected by very strong Blood Magics. Until a Koizumi woman came of age upon turning 17, she was under the protection of all those who came before her. It was a powerful protection spell strengthened by generations of Koizumi women that resided in the child's own blood.

Blood magic wasn't something the modern witch or wizard would initially think of or turn to (and hadn't since the turn of the century), but the old wizarding families like the Koizumis knew the value and power of such magics. And the protection born out of the love that a mother had for their child was the greatest form of blood magic that could be performed. Family was everything to a Japanese Witch/Wizard. So every generation of Koizumi woman, going all the way back to Sadashi, had renewed the blood spell whenever a new daughter was born. Akako was as protected as a child could be when the English Dark Lord came and slaughtered her parents and grandparents.

Though Lord Voldemort swept the house for any other living soul, he could not find her or Iwao. Because of the wards and blood magics, there was no sign in the house that a child lived there, so for all Voldemort knew the Koizumi line had been ended.

Once he was gone, Iwao took Akako from the house of her mothers and went into hiding. They lived among the muggles and as far from wizarding society as possible while still being able to keep appraised of the situation in the UK. Akako wound up attending muggle school and did not like it one bit. But she tolerated it, fearing the day that Voldemort would find out that a Koizumi had survived and came back to kill her as he had her beloved family.

Then came the day that Voldemort met his demise in the summer of 1981. Not a soul in the magical world didn't know about the baby Harry Potter and his story. Akako was fourteen at the time and had adjusted to attending muggle school by day and receiving a private magical education from Iwao by night.

After the fall of Lord Voldemort, Akako was able to return to her family home and freely use her family name proudly once again. The magical community rallied around her, praising the Gods that she had survived the Dark Lord's wrath upon her family. She was free to return to her mother's people, to be among the magical community and resume her schooling at Mahoutokoro, but in the end she refused. She didn't feel as though she had a place there anymore. It had been five years and all of her old classmates might as well have been strangers to her.

Besides, she found she enjoyed her newfound power and charm that she had over muggle boys. Unlike wizards, muggle males had no resistance to her magics. Even at fourteen she was capable of wrapping a man twice her age around her finger. Though part of her longed to properly rejoin the magical community, a larger part wanted nothing to do with the very people that had led to her family's demise.

The Koizumi household was very well protected and hidden to those who'd never been there before. Someone in Japan - someone her parents had trusted enough to invite into their home! - had to have sold her family out to Voldemort. That was the only way the Dark Lord could have found them while they were at home. Unfortunately there was always someone who wanted to see the fall of the Koizumi bloodline.

So Akako decided to take her chances with the muggles, and after transporting her family home to a new location and renewing the wards of protection (with Iwao's help), she fell off the magical communities' radar once more.

After a couple of years passed, Akako met the first muggle male that could withstand her magics. The magician jewel thief, Kaitou Kid, was an enigma and boasted no magical prowess other than his own unique brand of trickery, sleight of hand, and his immunity to her spells. He fascinated as well as frustrated her, and during the first few months of their acquaintance she had been determined to make him bow to her whim like all the other muggle males. She was quick to discover that the thief was actually a classmate of hers named Kuroba Kaito.

She became so obsessed and focused on him that she failed to properly realize that there was another male that was able to resist her magics. Due to the fact that this other boy was trying to arrest her thief, she was more focused on helping Kuroba maintain his cover instead of the lack of effect her magic had on the other boy.

It took her some time to realize that Saguru Hakuba, a half Japanese/half British high school detective from London, wasn't like the others. She hadn't realized at first that her magics didn't work on him because he blushed during the few times she addressed him. He seemed to be just like the other males in that regard, but it wasn't until she tried to directly influence him, that she realized that he was unaffected. Unlike Kuroba, however, Hakuba wasn't indifferent to her attentions. Her magic might not affect him, but her charm and natural beauty still did.

So she started an experiment. Akako would flirt and Hakuba would respond in kind, teasing her on occasion. She soon began to admire his sharp wit and dry humor. Kuroba hadn't liked the sudden turn in her behavior towards Hakuba, and for one moment Akako thought that her thief was jealous of his detective rival over her. Alas, he was not. She was rather insulted when she learned that he believed that she was manipulating Hakuba into liking her. Sadly, she could hardly be surprised that that was what he thought. And it wasn't like she could tell Kuroba that Hakuba wasn't affected by her magics too. That was a big enough blow to her ego. Two muggles defying her powers was practically unheard of for a Koizumi woman, so she was hardly going to admit it.

At the beginning of their senior year in high school, Hakuba actually asked her out on a date. She said yes and found herself falling in love with the young man. He was charming and witty. He treated her as his equal and didn't show any aversion to her being a witch even though he was a Christian (a non-practicing Christian, granted, but he still went to church with his mother every Christmas and Easter). When she felt more comfortable with their relationship, she began to allow herself to perform magic around him. He'd reacted with more curiosity than she thought he would.

Apparently during the few years that they'd known each other, Hakuba had come to see quite a few things that he hadn't been able to explain away with simple logic. And what had he done? Researched of course. It was one of the many things that Akako was discovering that she loved about him. He hardly ever judged something until he had as much evidence as he could on the subject. She was happy to share her world with him, because obviously the muggles had it wrong and if the person she was quickly falling in love with was going to get an accurate account of her culture, then by the Gods, he was going to get it from the source.

She took him with her on errands to magical market centers. She lent him her books on spells and potions. She taught him her people's lore and culture, which (thankfully) he found fascinating as it was actually pretty similar to Japanese muggle culture. It was while they were on these ventures that she learned that Hakuba had what the Wizarding community called The Sight. Hakuba was a muggle, no doubt, (he'd allowed himself to be tested) but he was one of the few capable of seeing magical artifacts and the things that most muggles were blind to. Muggle wards and glamors simply didn't affect him.

Iwao once told her that he suspected that Hakuba's mother's side of the family might have mixed with magical blood at some point in their history. He was leaning more towards an ancient race of elf or some other type of Fey creature, because of Hakuba's English heritage and the fact that he had a slightly elvish look about him with his body build and sharp cheekbone structure. Akako was leaning more towards him being part Veela or some type of nymph, though.

His physical build and The Sight aside, Hakuba at times demonstrated small feats of unconventional raw magical power. He would never be able to wield a wand, but he had the ability to imbue small amounts of magic in his speech and items he'd crafted. His singing was pleasant - hypnotic almost - and his passionate speeches usually got those listening to him just as passionate about whatever it was that he was speaking about. Then there was the scarf he'd made for Akako that winter. It held a muted power within its threads and remained warm even if she'd left it somewhere cold. She'd intentionally put it in the refrigerator one night and put it on the next day just to test it. It was cold when she put it on, granted, but it warmed faster than it should have and she never felt cold with it on.

It wasn't until Valentines Day their senior year that Akako was sure that Hakuba had a Veela or nymph somewhere in his ancestry. She noticed how much the muggle females at their school were drawn to him, like how the males were drawn to her even when she wasn't laying on the charm. At first Akako had written it off, chalking it up to the fact that Hakuba was half British (with that sexy accent) and had the exotic foreign appeal going for him. But even after three years to grow used to him, their female classmates were just as taken with Hakuba as they had been when he first arrived.

Akako found herself dreading the end of their high school years as winter turned into spring and final exams were coming upon them. She and Hakuba had talked about a lot of things, but the future had never come up. There had always been something they wanted to share with each other. Something about magic, lore or a cultural aspect that they both wanted to look into more. And now the end was near and she knew he would be heading back to London, as he did every summer, and planned on finishing a degree in Criminology at Cambridge University. She hadn't planned an after beyond staying in Japan and continuing to practice her magic. She had no interest in continuing on to University or returning to complete a formal magical education.

She was going to lose him.

Or maybe not.

After finals were done and graduation parties were had, Hakuba asked Akako and Iwao over to his house one night for dinner where she got to meet his mother for the first time. Akako could see the same Fey features in her that she did in Saguru. There was definitely some Veela in her, if the dazed expression Hakuba's father had sometimes was any indication when she said or did something in his vicinity. The expression was quickly turned into a sort of scowl before being replaced by his usual jovial grin, meaning he was at least aware of the effect his ex-wife had on him and was obviously disgusted that she still managed to affect him so.

Elizabeth Kingston was a lovely woman. Though perhaps a bit vain, she was very open and accepting of Akako. Not to say that Hakuba Akira didn't like Akako, but he was definitely leery of her, if the glances he kept darting between her and his ex were any indication. Clearly he thought she'd charmed his son as much as his ex had once charmed him.

Akako was surprised however, when the night ended with Elizabeth offering Akako and Iwao a place to stay in England over the summer. Akako and Hakuba had talked about possibly one day exploring the English magical community, but she had never seriously entertained the thought of leaving Japan. Japan was her home. It was where her family had lived for generations and England was where their murderer had come from. Did she really want to go there?

One look at Hakuba's face and she knew that she would. She didn't want to give him up.

So Akako and Iwao made arrangements to stay in England for the summer. Elizabeth Kingston supplied them with a set of rooms in the manor where she and Saguru resided in Wimbledon. It was a stately home away from the hustle and bustle of London's central hub and it's surrounding districts. She imagined that a hundred years ago, there hadn't been much in the area, but in recent times muggles had expanded the London city area and suburbs over what had probably once been prime countryside real estate. Even so, the way the manor looked and it's expansive grounds were maintained, it looked like it was right out of a Jane Austen novel. And Hakuba was the dashing leading man.

While they were in England, Hakuba wanted her to call him Saguru, and his mother insisted on being addressed as Lizzy for some reason. But Akako complied (because when in Rome [or in this case, London], do as the Romans [Londoners] do, right?) and after the first week, found that she was starting to like England.

At first, she and Saguru explored only the muggle areas, seeing the typical tourist traps such as the London Eye, Big Ben, and (Saguru's favorite) 221 B Baker Street, home of the famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.

Then after a time, they began to explore Wizarding London with Iwao. Akako was fascinated by the difference between British and Japanese Wizarding Cultures, and so was Saguru. She was, however, rather shocked by the way Muggles were perceived there, and the ridiculous heights in status that Purebloods held themselves in. It was pretty medieval. Granted, Japanese Purebloods were very proud and held themselves in high esteem as well, but they at least saw and treated muggles and muggleborns as normal - if not less privileged - people.

It differed depending on who you talked to, but the general consensus in England was that muggles were perceived as being beneath the magical community and those they called Squibs weren't seen as much better. Akako found this ironic since most of the Pureblood community in Britain had inbreed itself to the point that only a few of the old families were still around. Any member of those families that had either been born a squib, or married a muggle born or muggle, was disinherited.

It was for Saguru's sake that when they traversed the Wizarding parts of London that they claimed he was a Squib. Akako didn't like it, but it allowed her boyfriend to accompany her into places like Gringotts in Diagon Alley, where she reopened the old Slytherin vaults and claimed her heritage. Granted, not much was left of the Slytherin fortune, but the Goblins were quite happy to accommodate her when she requested that some of her family's vast fortune from Japan be transferred to the London account.

The paperwork took a ridiculously long time. There was the process of confirming her Slytherin heritage and a lot of forms to sign since she had no intention of taking up the name Slytherin, so the account name had to be changed to Koizumi. So, while Akako was tackling all of that with Iwao's help, Saguru underwent a heritage check as well.

The goblins were most fascinated with Saguru's genetics. He was indeed part Veela, but also a bit of water nymph as well. According to the Goblins, one of Saguru's mother's ancestors back in the middle ages had a child with a water nymph, one of whose descendants must have had relations with a Veela a century or two back. It was confirmed that Saguru was indeed a muggle, but had Fea ancestry, so was indeed in possession of some magical gifts, such as The Sight and his above normal charm.

After hours spent at the goblin run bank, Akako and Saguru got some muggle currency exchanged for wizarding English gold that they spent during their exploration of Diagon Alley.

Of course, because she'd claimed her rightful Slytherin heritage at Gringotts, it got out that an heir of Slytherin had returned to England. There was a lot of hoopla the next time Akako and Saguru went out to explore Diagon Alley and they were found by some British Ministry Wizards and Witches. She didn't like it one bit, but Akako consented to meet at the Ministry of Magic later in the week to get the matter properly sorted. Apparently, her "newfound" status as Slytherin's heir earned her quite a lot of recognition in their society, which was amusing, considering she wasn't even a British citizen. Saguru seemed equally amused with the politics, but was contemplative as well.

The night before she was due to visit the Ministry, he popped the question. _The_ question. Saguru Hakuba asked Koizumi Akako to marry him. Iwao, the traitor, wasn't surprised by the proposal in the least, meaning that Saguru - the gentleman that he is - had to have asked her guardian/servant for his permission before proposing to her. It also explained why she and Iwao had been invited to London by Saguru's mother and why the woman had insisted on being called Lizzy. The woman had to have known about her son's intention to marry Akako.

Akako of course said yes. She never thought she'd marry so young, but she knew that Saguru was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She'd known that the moment she'd agreed to spend the summer with him and left Japan. She'd had a feeling back then that she wasn't going to be returning to her homeland for a while.

So, with her new engaged status, Akako and Iwao traveled to the Ministry of Magic and spent the day slogging through even more paperwork to properly and legally gain her Slytherin titles, change them to Koizumi, and apply for British citizenship. She was delighted with how scandalized some of the witches and wizards were when they realized that her fiance was a muggle. Imagine their horror. The heir of Slytherin - the great something granddaughter of a man who had been well known for his strong dislike of muggles - was marrying a muggle. Ha! Take that British gits! She had a delightful conversation with Iwao and Saguru the next morning when they saw the headlines in the wizarding newspaper: _The Daily Prophet_.

As the summer came to a close, Saguru and Akako finished hashing out the details for their wedding. They decided to hold it in Japan since that was where most of their friends were and any that Saguru had in England could afford the airfare to travel. They had decided on a fall wedding. Akako loved the vivid reds and yellows and oranges of the leaves in Japan and knew just the spot to hold their wedding. It was a special sacred place just outside of Tokyo at the base of Mt. Fuji where all of her mother's family had been wed for generations. She agreed to a Christian wedding ceremony though, since Saguru's mother's family was religious and she wasn't.

Nakamori Aoko was to be Akako's maid of honor and Saguru's cousin, Renee Benoit, was his best "man". Akako was rather amused that Saguru had chosen Renee and not one of his male relations or friendly acquaintances to fill the role, but he reasoned that Renee was who he felt closest to out of everyone he knew. She was practically a sister to him, so Akako let the matter go. Saguru did pick Kuroba Kaito and his fellow now-former high school detectives, Kudo Shinichi and Hattori Heiji to be his groomsmen, however. Akako's bridesmaids were Momoi Keiko, Mouri Ran, and Toyama Kazuha. She didn't know Mouri and Toyama as well as Saguru knew Kudo and Hattori after their amassed efforts to takedown of some criminal organization the previous year, but the girls knew Saguru and Akako had gotten along with them the few times they had joined her, Keiko and Aoko for a girl's outing.

It was clear that Kuroba, Kudo and Hattori were surprised and confused by Saguru and Akako's sudden decision to get married (because technically they'd only officially dated for barely a year before getting engaged), but were honored that Saguru wanted them as his groomsmen.

The wedding was held on All Hallow's Eve when the leaves were the perfect color. The 31st of October was also considered a very powerful day for the magical community, and thus made the occasion all the more special for Akako. The pair decided to spend their honeymoon touring Europe before settling down in a house in Soho where they could be closer to Saguru's work with Scotland Yard, and near various wizarding establishments, particularly Diagon Alley, for Akako.

The two settled into a very nice domestic life. Within the next few years Saguru graduated from Cambridge with degrees in Criminology and Law by the time he was twenty and started his own detective agency, while Akako became a very public figure at the Ministry of Magic, having taken up a position in their muggle relations department. She'd become fast friends with Amelia Bones, who headed the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. And this is where the real story begins…

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So that's chapter 1. I hope you like how I've integrated the DCMK world with the Harry Potter one. Next chapter will give us the Boy Who Lived himself, Harry Potter. Enjoy! :)


	2. Chapter 2

So here's the real start of our fic. I hope you enjoy. :)

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September 1989

It had started as just another day for Saguru James Hakuba. He'd woken up, showered, dressed for work, ate breakfast with his wife, and headed to his office. Said office space was a unit above a bistro that he and Akako liked frequenting. His mother had bought the space for him as a sort of present when he'd graduated from Cambridge and Akako often met him at the bistro for lunch if he wasn't in the middle of any serious cases for the Yard.

After he walked in, his secretary, Moira Thatch, handed him a cup of tea and reminded him that he had an appointment at 9 with a Miss Thornton. Saguru thanked her and settled in his office to finish up some paperwork for the Yard on a case in Whitechapel they'd wrapped up the night before.

At 9 o'clock on the dot, a young woman in her mid twenties walked into his office. Saguru could tell at a glance that she was a school teacher. Her clothes were plain and simple, show casing no graphics or loud colors. Her handbag was worn, but well cared for, though she'd either missed or couldn't remove a few small lines of marker. Her face was lined in the way that he'd learned only young parents or minders of small children were, but said lines also indicated that she smiled a lot, so Saguru figured she was a primary school teacher.

"Miss Thornton, I presume," Saguru said, shaking her hand before gesturing for her to take a seat in one of the chairs across from his desk.

"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Detective Hakuba," she said. "Though I have to say, I thought you'd be… a bit older."

"Most do," Saguru said, smiling wryly. He may not have been a teenager any more, but being 22 wasn't much better. He still looked like he was fresh out of Uni instead of the experienced and seasoned private investigator he knew he was reputed for being.

Saguru looked at the paperwork in front of him on the details of the case Miss Thornton had given his secretary over the phone.

"You're from Little Whinging, is that right?" Saguru said.

"I am."

"This trip is a bit out of your way, then, isn't it?" Saguru mused.

"My cousin said that you're really good," Miss Thornton said. "He said that you helped him figure out who was embezzling small funds from his store's accounts. That you see seemingly small and insignificant details that result in some fantastic insights. He called you a modern day Sherlock."

"I take it your cousin is Byron Smyth?" Saguru said, smiling in amusement as he thought of the young shopkeeper who owned the convenience store down the street.

"Yessir," Miss Thornton said.

"Very well, Miss. What can I do for you?" Saguru asked.

"Well… it's about this boy… a student of mine, you see," the school teacher began. "He's… a bit strange, but not a bad boy. I… I think he's being abused."

"That's a serious claim, Miss Thornton," Saguru said, expression grim. "Did you notify your school's headmaster and the proper authorities?"

"Of course!" the woman cried. "But it resulted in nothing. The boy's family is well off and relatively well liked by the community so the matter was dropped rather quickly. They just said that the boy's a troublemaker and left it at that."

"What do you know about his home life, Miss Thornton?"

"I know that he's an orphan. He's living with his aunt and uncle and cousin," she said, reaching into her purse and pulled out a photo that was clearly from the school's yearbook. "His name is Harry Potter, Detective. He's such a sweet and kind boy that I can't imagine him making any sort of trouble. But he's clearly under fed and he always comes in wearing clothes that I know were once his cousin's."

Saguru took the photo and examined the young boy. He was small and scrawny that was for sure, and looked even smaller swimming in the large clothes that practically hung off his frame. He was pale and had a mop of black hair that stuck up everywhere that nearly hid a small scar on his forehead that was shaped like a lightning bolt. He also had the most striking and vivid pair of green eyes that he'd ever seen behind a pair of glasses that looked to be a bit too big for him.

"Here's a picture of his cousin, Dudley Dursley," Miss Thornton added, handing him a second photo.

The second photo showed a rather large and overweight blond boy. Saguru agreed that the clothes Harry was wearing were likely hand-me-downs. It was worrying that these two children were raised under the same roof and looked so completely different.

"I'll take the case," he said after a moment of deliberation. "May I keep these photos? I'll also need the addresses of your school and the boy's home if you have it."

"Of course!" Miss Thornton said, looking relieved. "Whatever helps."

* * *

A week later, Saguru was in Little Whinging, observing Harry Potter as the boy worked in the garden in front of the Dursley home under the kitchen windows. It had been apparent from day one that the boy was indeed being abused by his aunt and uncle and it made him angry that Miss Thornton's concern had been blatantly ignored in the face of all the obvious signs. He'd been gathering evidence all week to present to the local authorities. He was lucky that he knew the local police chief, Henry Montrose, and had gotten him on board with getting a warrant to search the house after presenting his findings from the first three days alone. The house was the only place Saguru hadn't been able to observe the family while they were inside. With any luck Montrose would have that warrant within a few hours and they could serve it that evening.

The Dursleys acted like a nice family for their neighbors and friends, but it was clear that they all despised Harry for some reason. Saguru had heard and recorded many instances where the child had been called a "freak" by the uncle on outings that the family allowed Harry to join them on. He hadn't witnessed the boy get hit or physically harmed, but he felt it was only a matter of time. The signs of abuse were clear. Harry was eight years old, and yet he could easily be mistaken for a 5-6 year old child.

"Hey handsome."

Saguru looked away from the kid slaving away in the heat of the afternoon sun to look up at his lovely wife, who was lounging against the side of his car.

"Hello gorgeous," he answered back, smiling as she slipped into the passenger seat beside him.

"How's your stakeout going?" she asked.

"Good. Chief Montrose is getting a warrant for us to enter the house and arrest the aunt and uncle on grounds of suspected abuse," he informed her.

"Is that the boy you've been investigating?" she asked, watching young Harry as he got up from where he was kneeling beside the garden.

"Yes," Saguru sighed, frowning when he saw the aunt come out of the house and start yelling at him, pointing at things in the flowerbed. The boy had missed some weeds it seemed.

Akako was glaring at the woman as they watched Mrs. Dursley chew the boy out.

That was when there was a loud popping sound and suddenly the garden Harry had been working on was nothing but weeds. Mrs. Dursley shrieked in outrage and began to drag the boy back inside the house by his hair. Saguru was quick to whip out his camera and record the whole thing. Her yelling could still be heard in muted spurts from within the house, joined by indecipherable bellows from the uncle.

Akako was sitting still as a statue beside him, her expression shuttered and icy cold.

"Was that…?" Saguru attempted to ask, trailing off as he eyed the garden that had been full of flowers just moments ago, but was now a bush of weeds.

"Accidental magic," Akako finished for him, her voice soft. "That boy is a wizard."

"In a muggle family," Saguru muttered. "One of his parents must have been muggle born or something. Poor Harry Potter. That warrant can't be served fast enough."

Akako's eyes widened and she turned to face him so fast, he thought she might have given herself some whiplash.

"Did you say Harry Potter?" she demanded.

"Yes. Why? Do you know him?" Saguru asked, stunned by her reaction.

"There isn't a wizard or witch in the whole world that doesn't know his name," she said softly. "Do you remember what I told you about how my family was killed?"

Saguru only nodded. He knew what a touchy subject that was for her and that it was better that she direct the conversation.

"The Dark Wizard that killed them was stopped by a baby. Voldemort's killing curse rebounded and killed its caster instead, but not before he'd murdered the child's family like he killed mine. That baby, the one credited with defeating Voldemort is Harry Potter. No one knows where he is…until now. Tell me, does he have the scar? A lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead?"

"Yes," Saguru said, feeling overwhelmed upon learning who he had been watching this week. "How… do you want to proceed?" he asked her.

Akako was quiet for a while as she watched the house.

"I need to speak with Amelia," she said at last. "If this situation is as severe as it appears and that boy is indeed Harry Potter, I need to get her input and see how much the Ministry needs to get involved."

"If everything goes right, the Dursley's will be charged with child abuse and Harry will be removed from their custody. Then he'll end up in the system and hopefully with a good foster family."

"He'll end up in foster care?" Akako asked.

"He has no other known relatives," Saguru sighed. "But now I'm not so sure how well that'll go now that I know he's a wizard."

"...We could take him in," Akako said after a long minute of silence.

Saguru stared at her. Sure, they'd talked about having kids someday, but hadn't talked about having one so soon.

"Are you sure?" he asked her. "You haven't even met him yet."

"Have you?" she asked.

"...Once," he admitted. "I met him in the park a couple days ago when he was on his way home from school. He was being bullied by his cousin Dudley and his friends."

"And what did you want to do after you met him?" she asked.

"I wanted to take him away from the Dursleys that second," Saguru sighed.

"And bring him home?" Akako prodded.

"...Do you really think we're ready to be parents?" Saguru asked her.

"I don't think anyone is completely ready to become a parent," she said, shrugging. "You said you wanted kids. Why not now? We're more than financially stable between your livelihood and my own, not to mention what we both have with our family fortunes combined. You know neither of us have to work, but we do so anyway. If it comes down to it, I'll quit my job at the Ministry and stay home full time for a few years to raise him until he's old enough to go to Hogwarts. Besides, we're perfect to raise him. If he were to go into a muggle foster family, what happens when he gets his letter from Hogwarts? What happens when he interacts with the magical world for the first time? How will he handle having everyone knowing who he is while he has little to no idea why? We can give him the perfect balance of a muggle and magical life. We could ease him into the magical community gradually. Prepare him in ways no other family would be able to."

"That's pretty thought out for a spur of the moment decision to become a foster parent," Saguru said, feeling amused, but knowing that she was right. "Fine. Go see Amelia and I'll handle things on this end."

"Good. See you soon, _Anata_ ," she said as she slipped out of the car and disappeared with a small pop.

* * *

Akako apparated into the main lobby for the Ministry of Magic and headed straight for the lifts that would take her to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Amelia Bones's office.

"Akako?" the older witch said, staring as Akako stalked right into the office, closing the door and casting silencing wards over the office before taking a seat before the department head's desk.

"Sorry for the abrupt arrival, Amelia, but I really could use your help with a serious matter that my husband's uncovered," Akako informed her, getting straight to the point. "He's been working on a child abuse case, gathering evidence to get the child removed from his aunt and uncle's custody. I learned today that this child is none other than Harry Potter."

Amelia dropped her quill and sat ramrod straight in her seat. "What?"

"The boy's relatives are the worst muggles I've seen in some time," Akako fumed. "With any luck, Saguru will get the boy removed from that house in a few hours. ...We're hoping to adopt him. I wanted to consult you on how to go about doing that. Who is in charge of Harry's case and how much of a problem are they going to be during the adoption process?"

"No one is in charge of his case. It was Dumbledore who placed Harry with his relatives," Amelia said, removing her glasses and fiddled with the frames. "The Minister was most upset that Dumbledore didn't consult the Ministry or allow us to place him with a magical foster family. Until now we had no idea where the boy was staying, only that he was safe and with family."

"So legally Potter's case should be handled by muggle authorities," Akako mused. "He's not in a family registered by the Ministry."

"Correct," Amelia said, "We have no real jurisdiction in a muggle case, but if Dumbledore chooses to get involved it could mean trouble."

"You think he'll interfere?" Akako asked, frowning.

"This is Harry Potter we're talking about," Amelia sighed. "No one really kicked up a fuss when Dumbledore spirited the boy away from the ruins of his family home and placed him in what we were assured was a safe home for the savior of the Wizarding world. I can arrange it so that the Ministry interferes as little as possible with the muggle case since you and your husband plan on adopting the boy, and I could see about getting the Minister involved, but that's about all I can do."

"That's all I ask," Akako said, raising from her chair. "Do what you can to prevent Dumbledore from getting involved, but if he decides to get interfere, he'll find that I can be quite formidable."

"Good luck," Amelia said. "I'll give you the next few weeks off. Hopefully I'll see you soon to officialize the adoption and get it registered in our books."

Akako flashed the woman a grateful smile before leaving.

* * *

Saguru was more than ready to do enter the house by the time Chief Montrose and four of his men arrived in two patrol cars, parking on either side of house Number 4 on Privet Drive. A nondescript car from child services was there as well, waiting on standby. Saguru got out of his own car that had remained parked on the corner across the street and joined them, an envelope full of photographic, audio and video evidence for the chief. Montrose took the envelope and put it in his squad car before heading to the door with the warrant in hand.

"Sir," Saguru said before the man could knock. "I want you to be aware of the fact that my wife and I are looking to adopt Potter, should he be removed from the Dursley's care."

This earned him looks from the five policemen.

"And when did you decide this?" Montrose asked.

"A few hours ago," Saguru admitted. "She hasn't even met him in person yet, but from what little I've told her, my wife has become rather attached to this boy. We realized this afternoon that she knows who he is and about what happened to his birth parents."

"Are you sure you two are ready to take responsibility for a child?" Montrose asked.

"We've discussed having children before," Saguru informed him. "And we're sure that we want Harry."

"I'll bring it up with the judge and put in a good word for you," Montrose said. "But for now, let's just get this kid out of here."

With a nod, they finally knocked on the door and confronted the Dursleys who'd just finished eating dinner. They did not take things quietly as the officers began to search the house. Saguru was very concerned that Harry wasn't anywhere in sight and the two officers that were investigating the upstairs reported that there was only one child's bedroom. That was when Saguru noticed the cupboard door under the stairs. With a sinking heart, he strode past Chief Montrose who in the middle of a yelling match with Vernon Dursley about what his officers were allowed to investigate, and headed right to the cupboard.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Petunia Dursley shrieked at him when he unlocked the cupboard.

"The better question," Saguru growled, opening the door and revealing eight year old Harry Potter blinking up at him from where he was curled up on a cot in what was clearly his bedroom- a closet under the stairs, "is why your nephew is living under the stairs when there is clearly a bedroom for him upstairs."

"He can't have that room," Dudley Dursley said, "because that's my room for my toys."

"I think it's time to serve those warrants, Chief," Saguru said, before crouching in front of the scared boy. "Hello, Harry. Remember me?"

"You're the man that helped me after… I got beaten up," Harry said, editing himself.

"After your cousin and his friends beat you, you mean," Saguru said gently. "It's alright now. You don't have to be afraid to tell the truth. My police friends and I are here to help you."

The poor boy looked up at him with so much wary hope and guarded relief it was as if he were afraid to believe what Saguru was saying was true.

An hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were arrested and Dudley Dursley was picked up by Vernon Dursley's sister, Marge Dursley. The woman clearly hated Harry as much as the rest of them and had been too happy to hear that she wouldn't have to look after him as well. Child Services came in and - much to Saguru's relief - granted him temporary custody over Harry after he was checked over for injuries and it was revealed that he had several hand shaped bruises on his person. It quickly became apparent that the poor boy was rather untrusting of most adults. Harry had refused to move far from Saguru's side since he'd been coaxed out of the cupboard. In his eyes, Saguru was the one who saved him and was the most familiar and friendly face among the older officers that were rescued him from the Dursleys.

Saguru was happy to lead Harry to his car and call Akako to let her know that he'd be coming home with the boy. Harry was clearly nervous, especially when they pulled up to his house in Soho. The house was clearly high end and upper class compared to the little cookie cutter neighborhood they'd left in Little Whinging. The boy clutched at Saguru's hand as they exited the car and walked up the steps to the house.

The moment the door opened, Saguru could smell Akako's cooking coming from the kitchen.

" _Tadaima_!" he called out automatically as he pulled off his shoes.

" _Okaeri_!" she called back.

"What did you say?" Harry asked softly.

"Apologies," Saguru said, smiling sheepishly. "My wife grew up in Japan and I met her when I went to high school there. I said _Tadaima_ , which Japanese for "I'm home," and she answered, _Okaeri_ , which means "Welcome home." It's just something we say to each other."

"You lived in Japan?" Harry asked, finally coming out of his shell as his natural childish curiosity was peaked.

"I'm half Japanese on my father's side," Saguru explained. "My mother is British."

"Cool," boy said, looking around the house and more than likely picking out all the asian items that decorated the Hakuba home.

"You must be Harry," Akako said as she came out of the kitchen and into the front entry. "Welcome to our home."

"Harry, this is my wife, Akako," he said, resting a comforting hand on the boy's skinny shoulder. "Akako, this is Harry Potter."

Akako smiled warmly and welcomingly as she crouched down to Harry's level.

"It is very nice to meet you. I hope you'll be happy here in our home. If you want anything, feel free to ask us, alright?" she told him.

"It's nice to meet you too," Harry said, smiling tentatively.

"Now, I hope you boys are hungry, because I just finished whipping up my best beef stew," Akako announced, getting up and leading the way into the kitchen.

The next few days were very busy in the Hakuba house as Akako and Saguru got used to having a child in their home. Saguru was gone during a majority of the day while the Dursley's court case moved forward and he requested permanent guardianship over Harry while waiting for his application to go through so that he and Akako could become registered foster parents. His name, reputation, and connections within the system was clearly helping the process along, but it was still going to take some time for all the paperwork to go through. Akako, meanwhile, spent a majority of her days getting to know Harry Potter better, taking him out shopping and getting him clothes and things that fit him. The boy was clearly overwhelmed with all of the attention, but he was gradually opening up to her and enjoyed all of her stories about her childhood in Japan.

Amelia Bones was doing a fantastic job in keeping the magical community out of the entire situation, though there had been quite a few stories leaked and released in the papers about Harry's removal from his aunt and uncle's home. There had only been speculations about the reason for it, however, instead of details about the abuse. The Auror department was working overtime in making sure that the case remained in the muggle courts. Amelia came to visit Akako while Harry was out with Saguru to speak with the police and child services about his treatment in the Dursley's house.

"The minister wasn't very pleased," the head of the Magical Law Department reported as Akako served her tea. "He found out after the story was released in the Daily Prophet. He had calmed somewhat after he found out that Dumbledore hadn't been informed either. After your visit, I reviewed the laws concerning the custody of children in non-magical families and it is quite clear that any problem involving a magical child in the care of muggles should be solved by muggles unless it would result in harm to that child. Also, in your favor, according to adoption laws, unless we want to cause a muggle-wizard incident, any magical families applying for adoption and custody over a magical child from a muggle family must do so through the muggle courts. Harry is most fortunate that between you and Saguru, you are familiar with both the muggle and magical laws. Dumbledore doesn't have much of a leg to stand on if he wants to move him to a different magical family."

Akako was quite please by that development, glad that the law was on her side. She had no doubt that Saguru would be able to appease the muggle courts and that he had the connections needed to gain legal custody of Harry. With Amelia Bones on her side, Akako had all the reassurances she needed to know that she'd have support from the magical side of the law in this addoption as well. All she needed to know now was whether Harry really wanted to be a part of their family. She hoped so. She and Saguru had quickly grown fond of the boy and thought that he was coming to like them as well.

That night, a week after Harry had come to stay with them, Saguru and Akako sat together with Harry in their living room. The case against the Dursley's had been going well in regards to removing Harry from their custody, but the Dursley's had a really good lawyer provided by the company Vernon Dursley worked for. They weren't going to have to serve much jail time and would eventually get their son Dudley back, but it was quite clear that the courts didn't want Harry returning to their home. The support Saguru had at the Little Winging police department and community was outstanding and he and Akako were at the top of the list for potential foster parents. When they asked the boy if he'd like it if they adopted him and became his new parents, the boy practically screamed yes and hugged them as tightly as he could.

A few weeks later Harry Potter was officially theirs according to the muggle court of law, and the new family of three went out to dinner to celebrate with Saguru's mother, who fell in love with her new Grandson instantly.

Harry's introduction to the magical aspect of their lives was a little more complicated. Harry had taken the news about the truth behind his parents deaths hard, but it helped that Akako had gone through what he had too. Both of them had lost their birth families to the same Dark Wizard and so when Akako brought up the idea of a Blood Adoption, Saguru and Harry were both apprehensive, but on board with the idea that it'd cement Harry's place in their family. Akako reasoned that by making Harry theirs by blood, she'd be able to pass down the same blood magic protection that she'd benefited from her ancestors while growing up.

On October 31st, 1989, Amelia Bones was very happy to put through the official adoption papers that made Harry James Potter legally Saguru and Akako Hakuba-Koizumi's son in the Ministry's records and passed their case off to the department that performed blood adoptions. After the blood binding spell was performed, there were no real immediate physical changes in Harry that sometimes occurred when a child was adopted by a new pair of parents, but his eyes appeared to become an even more vibrant green than they had before and his hair became a little more manageable. At home, Akako and Iwao performed the ritual that would awaken in Harry the Koizumi legacy protection magic that was now in his blood.

Harry was tired the next day, but they were happy to have him as part of their family and spent the next few days getting him settled permanently into their home and lives. They got him enrolled in a private school in Soho (that Saguru went to as a child actually) and for the next few years, life in the Hakuba-Koizumi house was wonderful.

* * *

Yeah, we still have a lot of background and exposition given in this chapter, but we'll get to a lot more fun stuff now that our little family is together now! I haven't yet decided how AU this fic is going to be in regards to Harry's schooling. I'm debating whether I want Harry to go into Slytherin or stay a Gryffindor. There's a lot I have in mind for this fic for all three of these characters, so if there is anything you guys want to see, please feel free to let me know. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!


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